A look at top stories from around Westmoreland County in 2019

Some of the biggest stories of 2019 in Westmoreland County and the region carried over from the last calendar year, including reconciliation efforts from the Catholic priest sex abuse scandal and the ongoing celebration of all things related to Fred Rogers.

Here is a look at some of the stories that led local news coverage over the past year, from the tragic to the heartwarming. Many marked progress now with the promise of more to come in 2020 — and beyond.

January

A county judge declared a missing Unity woman officially dead. Cassandra Gross has not been seen since April 7, 2018. She was 51. Though her body has not been recovered, a judge acting at the request of her family declared in court that she was a victim of homicide in order for a death certificate to be issued.

Thomas Stanko, an ex-boyfriend who also is from Unity, remains in jail on unrelated charges. Authorities have identified him as the main suspect in her disappearance and death. Stanko, 49, has maintained his innocence.

February

Greensburg Catholic Diocese launched its compensation fund for victims of clergy sexual abuse. In October, the diocese announced it paid $4.35 million to settle claims with 57 adults. Six claims remained unresolved at that time.

The Greensburg-based diocese includes parishes in Westmoreland, Fayette, Indiana and Armstrong counties. It was part of the 2018 statewide grand jury report that detailed allegations of abuse against 301 priests across Pennsylvania over seven decades. The grand jury documented abuse allegations against 20 priests in the Greensburg diocese.

Separately, a push continues to change Pennsylvania’s statute of limitations for child sexual abuse.

In November, the state Senate approved two House bills that would change the existing law.

Gov. Tom Wolf signed a bill that extends the statue of limitations for civil suits in future child sexual abuse cases until the victim turns 55 and eliminates the statute of limitations for future criminal cases of child sexual abuse.

The second bill would amend the state constitution to allow for a retroactive window of opportunity for child sexual abuse victims to file lawsuits. The Legislature must pass that bill again in 2020 before it can be put on the ballot for a referendum in 2021.

March

• Greensburg police fatally shot Nina Adams after they said she refused to drop a handgun she was wielding on her Grant Street porch. Neighbors had just reported hearing shots fired, and a nearby business had its glass front door shattered by a bullet. Family members said Adams, 47, suffered from mental illness.

• State attorney general’s office filed prostitution and human trafficking charges against four defendants accused of using five massage parlors in Monroeville and Murrysville to force young Chinese workers to perform sex acts on customers.

The defendants included Mt. Pleasant resident Hui Xu, 45, also known as Sherry Caruso, who owned and operated four Tokyo Massage businesses. She pleaded guilty in December in what prosecutors said they believe are the first human trafficking convictions in Western Pennsylvania history. In total, she was sentenced to less than a year in jail as part of a plea deal and faces deportation.

• Westmoreland County welcomed its 2 millionth passenger to arrive via Spirit Airlines at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport. The low-cost carrier has provided commercial flight service since 2011 at the Unity airport, which served 64,013 passengers that year. The airport saw about 300,000 passengers last year.

The airport has resurfaced and is widening its runway, added a second passenger boarding bridge, expanded its parking and opened a new entrance.

April

Derry Borough’s mayor was arrested after he allegedly pointed a loaded revolver at four children at a park following a scuffle that included his son.

Police said Kevin M. Gross, 38, took a handgun to the park near his Broad Street home and pointed it at a 15-year-old boy and three girls — a 12-year-old and two 14-year-olds — before other residents intervened. Gross resigned as mayor three days later. He was originally charged with 16 counts, including felony aggravated assault charges — which his lawyer wants dismissed. The case is pending.

May

Gov. Tom Wolf declared May 23 as “1-4-3 Day,” a statewide celebration of kindness in honor of Fred Rogers, the iconic children’s television creator and Latrobe native.

The numbers represent the letters in the words “I love you.”

The movie “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” starring Tom Hanks as Rogers, premiered in Pittsburgh on Nov. 20.

The premiere happened months after the documentary “Won’t You Be My Neighbor” was snubbed for an Oscar nomination. Earlier in the year, an online survey conducted by the movie site Fandango named “Won’t You Be My Neighbor” — a 2017 documentary about Rogers and his PBS program “Mister Roger’s Neighborhood” — as the “most-shocking” Oscar snub.

June

After closing for a year for a nearly $1 million major renovation, Veterans’ Memorial Pool at Lynch Field in Greensburg reopened. The 58-year-old pool did not open in 2018 in order for the transformation that included new features like a splash pad, zip line and three-chute water slide. The bath house was renovated, and the cashier’s booth was replaced. A new ramp also made the hillside pool accessible to wheelchairs and strollers.

July

• For the first time in 20 years, and the second time ever, tuition did not rise for the nearly 100,000 students enrolled at Pennsylvania’s 14 state-owned universities — which include Slippery Rock, Cal U, IUP and Edinboro.

Basic tuition at schools in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education remained at $7,716 for undergraduate students. Tuition at state-owned schools last remained unchanged in 1998.

August

• State gaming officials approved the license for a mini casino to operate out of Westmoreland Mall in Hempfield. Live! Casino Pittsburgh will fill the former Bon-Ton store space with 750 slot machines and 30 table games along with a restaurant and bar area, an events center and an entryway connected to the parking garage.

The Cordish Companies, based in Baltimore, broke ground on the $150 million project in November. It is expected to open in 2020.

• Terry Ranieri, a beloved Hempfield community member, died of cancer.

The 1975 Hempfield Area School District graduate attended home football games regularly, greeting fans while watching the band and offering up his classic “Terryisms” — such as “jammin’ like Route 30” and “cool like whip.”

Terry, 64, had a developmental disorder called Williams syndrome, which is marked by unique personality characteristics and distinctive facial features, according to the National Institutes of Health.

September

• Police in Florida and Pennsylvania accuse Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Felipe Vazquez with having inappropriate sexual contact with a minor.

Florida officials accused Vazquez, 28, a Venezuela native who lives in St. Cloud, Fla., of sending sexually explicit photos to a teenage girl in Florida and soliciting sex via text message. Pennsylvania state police filed charges against Vazquez in Westmoreland County after he allegedly drove to a Scottdale girl’s home in August 2017, when she was 13, and sexually assaulted her.

The allegations came to light in August, when the girl’s mother found explicit messages on her phone and reported the situation to police in Florida, where the family now lives.

Vazquez is charged with statutory sexual assault, unlawful contact, corruption of minors and indecent assault.

On Nov. 19, prosecutors filed 21 new charges against Vazquez. The cases are pending against the former All-Star, who has been suspended.

• A 48-year-old Jeannette man was shot and killed outside McKee Stadium during a Jeannette High School football game. Dameian L. Williams died at Excela Health Westmoreland Hospital in Greensburg.

Greg A. Harper, 40, of Jeannette is charged with homicide and reckless endangerment in the shooting. His lawyer later said he acted in self-defense.

Police said they found a .40-caliber Glock handgun in Harper’s waistband. One discharged cartridge and a live round were found on the ground near Williams’ body. Police believed Williams was unarmed.

The case is pending.

October

• Trouble started for a Jeannette hemp-drying facility, when a state agency issued a violation notice over a “nauseating” pot-like odor reportedly wafting from the warehouse for weeks. Since the initial inspection on Sept. 18, Patriot Shield Security has installed air scrubbers which “reduced the odor significantly” but not enough to eliminate the problem, according to a report.

The Colorado-based company has had a myriad of issues at the Jeannette plant, including two cease-and-desist orders from city officials in November. Jeannette officials said Patriot Shield opened in September without an occupancy permit.

In December, the U.S. Department of Labor launched an investigation into complaints that the company had not paid employees.

A consent agreement issued Dec. 24 by the state Department of Environmental Protection allows Patriot Shield to resume limited operations if it begins payments on a $29,000 fine for air-quality violations.

• Elliott Co. officially buys the 13-acre site of the former Jeannette Glass for $600,000. The company plans to build a cryogenic pump test stand. That, along with expanded manufacturing operations to build cryogenic pumps and expanders at its nearby headquarters, will add about 130 jobs. The company announced its plans for the site in October 2018.

The Elliott Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Tokyo-based Ebara Corp., supplies compressors and turbines for liquefied natural gas plants.

• Westmoreland County commissioners agreed to spend $7.1 million on new voting machines.

County officials researched the purchase for more than a year, holding public demonstrations from several companies. Commissioners ultimately bought machines from Election Systems & Software. The 900 touch-screen machines and accompanying scanner system will be used starting in April at 306 precincts across the county.

The cost was $30 per voter, compared with $11 per voter Allegheny County paid for a new paper ballot/scanner voting system.

• The Westmoreland County Transit Authority decided to take over its own operations to improve bus and paratransit services at a reduced cost — which could save $2.3 million over three years, authority officials said.

The takeover, which required the authority to hire about 150 new employees, including drivers, maintenance workers, supervisors and management personnel, is expected to take place Jan. 2.

The authority terminated the contract with Ohio-based National Express Transit, which had served as its bus operator since 2010. The authority had fined National Express more than $262,000 since June 2018 for service failures that included driver shortages and route cancellations.

November

• Republicans reclaimed a majority on the Westmoreland County board of commissioners in the general election.

Voters elected GOP political newcomers Sean Kertes and Doug Chew to the three-member board. Democrat Gina Cerilli, 33, of Hempfield finished third, winning a second term.

Republican Commissioner Chuck Anderson retired at year’s end.

Kertes, 33, of Greensburg and Chew, 49, of Hempfield will become the second Republican majority of the board in the last half-century. They take office Jan. 6.

• Jonathan Held, Westmoreland County’s long-embattled sheriff, lost his reelection bid for a third term. Democrat James Albert, a retired Greensburg district judge, defeated the Hempfield Republican incumbent to bring an end to a tenure marred by a dozen discrimination lawsuits and pending criminal public corruption charges.

A mistrial was declared last December after jurors failed to reach a unanimous verdict against Held, who is accused of using on-duty deputies and staff to perform campaign work. Held has denied the allegations. A retrial is on hold due to pending appeals.

• For the first time since 1963, Pennsylvanians were allowed to hunt on the Saturday after Thanksgiving — two days earlier than the traditional Monday kickoff.

State game officials said the earlier start to rifle season would increase the deer harvest, specifically bucks, which saw fewer killed in 2018.

• Officials celebrated the completion of Pennsylvania’s first “micro-hospital,” dubbed Allegheny Health Network Hempfield Neighborhood Hospital. The 120,000-square-foot facility in Hempfield was the first of four planned in the region through a partnership between AHN and Emerus Holdings, a Houston-based health care business.

The Hempfield facility features an emergency department, a 10-bed inpatient unit, diagnostic imaging, a laboratory, cancer unit and other complementary medical services.

• An alleged physical altercation between Terrelle Pryor and his girlfriend ended with the former Jeannette football star and NFL player stabbed in the chest.

Both Pryor, 30, and Shalaya Briston, 24, face criminal charges, according to court documents. Pryor, who underwent surgery, is charged with simple assault. Briston is charged with aggravated assault and attempted homicide.

A judge released Briston on Dec. 17 to her parents’ home in Munhall, put her on electronic monitoring and told her to have no contact with Pryor.

Pryor, a former star high school quarterback, led the Jayhawks to their first state championship in 2007 before playing at Ohio State and entering the NFL in 2011.

December

John Sphon, a longtime Excela Health executive, was named CEO of the Westmoreland County hospital and health system.

Sphon, 62, of Greensburg, took the helm as acting CEO last spring. During that time, he directed a major expansion of cardiac services.

Excela is the county’s largest private employer, with about 4,700 employees.

Sphon has been with Excela and its predecessors for more than 35 years. He previously was president of Excela’s MedCare Equipment Co. His appointment makes him the third Excela CEO since the three hospitals merged in 2004.